(Gadjo Dilo)
This is French director Tony Gatlif's third excursion into the world of the gypsies, exotic outsiders who provoke both xenophobic reaction and admiration wherever they go. The maker of Latcho Drom and Mondo obviously feels there is a lot of story-telling material here, and uses the rich gypsy culture as the driving force of his story.

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The Crazy Foreigner is Stephane, a young Frenchman who has come to the heart of Romania in search of a gypsy singer his deceased father revered. His quest leads him to Izidor, the patriarch of a gypsy village. Slowly befriended by Izidor and accepted into the gypsies' lives, Stephane becomes a part of the clan, sharing their high points and disappointments.

It's a good-natured, realistic story in which the gypsy culture outshines the main characters, probably as the director intended. You can't help wondering if he would have preferred making high-quality documentaries about them, rather than coming up with a plot to allow the movie to proceed. Stephane never gains much depth but the rich culture he is immersed in is strongly felt, underlined by its stirring music and dance.

The Crazy Stranger is showing as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival from 23 July to 9 August 1998 at various venues around the city. For full information of the Festival and its programme, ring (03) 9417 2011 or visit the MIFF website at http://www.cinemedia.net/MIFF .

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